The Demon’s Bride

Part 1 In the final hours of the night, when all the noise of the city had faded away, there was an unusual heaviness to the silence inside that huge apartment. In the dim light of the large room, Ivana lay curled up on the bed, like the remnants of a memory that refused to disappear. Clutched tightly in her hands was a wedding photo frame. As she stared at Ebby's smiling face in the photograph, she could no longer hold back the ache rising from deep within her. Warm tears slipped down her cheeks, leaving the glass of the photograph wet. "Why...? Why did you leave me, baby? Now... I have no one..." Her words echoed through the deserted room like a desperate plea. She was trapped inside a prison of memories. A childhood spent walking hand in hand through the cold corridors of the orphanage... Ebby, who had always been there for her like a shelter... The years they spent studying together, and finally, the days when they began living their lives together. But the life they had built together was destined to be painfully short. That one car accident, which came like a villain into their lives, didn't just take Ebby away. It took away all of Ivana's happiness with him. Once again, she was left alone in that vast world... an orphan. Slowly closing her tear-filled eyes, she hugged the photograph against her chest and turned onto her side. Her mind was filled with Ebby's smile and his voice. Her exhausted body gradually slipped into sleep. But sometime around midnight, the atmosphere inside the room suddenly changed. A strange coldness spread through the room. It wasn't the artificial chill of the air conditioner. It was a wild, unnatural cold that seemed to pierce straight into her bones, making even breathing feel difficult. Still half-asleep, Ivana curled herself up tighter and pulled the blanket all the way down to her feet. Then, another change occurred. An unfamiliar fragrance began to fill the entire room. It was like a mixture of rare wildflowers from some deep, mysterious forest and an intoxicating, untamed perfume. Before her conscious mind could even recognize it, she breathed in the strange fragrance deeply and slipped into an even deeper sleep. But that peace did not last long. Something as cold as a block of ice touched her bare feet. The moment she felt that unnatural coldness, her body suddenly jerked. She tried to wake herself from the haze of sleep, but she could feel that strange, icy presence slowly moving upward along her legs. She desperately tried to force her eyes open. She tried to scream, but no sound came from her throat. Her body and tongue felt unbearably weak. She was completely immobilized, unable to move even a single finger. Fear spread through the room like a predator. Cold beads of sweat began to form across her forehead. Aware of the mysterious, icy presence creeping closer and closer, her heart pounding violently, Ivana lay helplessly on the bed... Unable to move. Unable to scream. And unable to understand what—or who—was there with her.